


The Commonalities of Strangers

by AceZT



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Combat, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27116932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceZT/pseuds/AceZT
Summary: Team JNPR are on their way to support Team RWBY in the war on Salem. They're making good time until Oscar notices a familiar trick from their time in Atlas. Neopolitan has attacked them once again, only this time Jaune knows of her past and is far more prepared to face her. After he begrudgingly sends his team off to finish their mission, Jaune readies a weapon that he hopes has the power to end his fight with Neopolitan: Empathy.
Relationships: Jaune Arc & Neopolitan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	The Commonalities of Strangers

**Author's Note:**

> A few assumptions are made for the sake of the story:
> 
> -Jaune learned about Roman, and by extension Neopolitan, through Ruby/other sources  
> -This takes place post-volume 7, though it doesn't necessarily matter when

"Neopolitan!" Nora hissed through clenched teeth. It was warranted too. Neopolitan had almost gotten the drop on them like she had at Atlas, but this time they were more well-informed. Oscar, having been fooled once before, caught on almost immediately and went in for an attack which the disguised Neopolitan quickly jumped away from. 

Neopolitan only glared at the four of them, eyes narrowed in what they could only assume was hate. 

But Jaune knew better. After all, he had a look like that once before.

"We don't have time for this," Jaune said, daring to glance away from their opponent for a moment to regard his team. "We need to keep going, but I doubt Neopolitan will let us without a fight."

Ren looked like he was about to say something to counter that point, but Jaune held up his hand and said, "Ren, take Nora and Oscar ahead. Team RWBY's probably gonna need your support."

The whole team looked at him incredulously, but Nora was the first to speak, "What? Jaune, the last time we fought her, it took all four of us and we still lost!" 

"I'll be fine, Nora. I think," Jaune said, glancing away from Nora as he finished. "Besides, I didn't ask. You three need to keep moving. I'll catch up when I can."

"You don't sound very confident…" Oscar said quietly, his hand holding his weapon in the direction of Neoplitan. His eyes darted back and forth from Jaune to the threat across the room. 

"That's because I'm not, buddy," Jaune said with a sigh. He took Crocea Mors' sword out of its sheath, activated the shield function and wielded both in preparation for a fight. "Don't worry, she technically hasn't landed a hit on me yet. Now get going."

With trepidation, Nora and Oscar slowly backed away. When they figured they could turn around safely, they started running towards the direction of Team RWBY. Jaune turned to Ren who didn't leave quite yet.

"Be careful, Jaune," Ren said tersely. Normally his face never betrayed his emotions, but even now Jaune could tell that a bit of rage was slipping through. It seemed that Ren wasn't too keen on forgetting what Neopolitan stooped to the last time they encountered her. Jaune stared back at Neopolitan and nodded his head once in affirmation. He then heard the sound of Ren turning around to catch up with the rest of his team. 

Jaune shakily let out a breath trying to calm his nerves. Neopolitan remained unblinking and had her weapon pointed right at him. He rolled his shoulders back and heard them groan and crack in protest as he tried to limber up for the oncoming fight. 

"You know," Jaune said with a bit more volume, "I wasn't lying the last time we fought." If Neopolitan could narrow her eyes any further, he figured that's what she was doing at the moment. "I haven't exactly heard good things about you."

Jaune could see her mouth go down further to a scowl. It's clear she wasn't in the mood to converse, and that's with Jaune already knowing about her unwillingness, or indisposition, to speech. 

"Hold on, let me explain myself, Neopolitan," Jaune said, not wanting her to start the fight just yet. Gods above knew she could certainly finish it. "Ruby told me about her past fights with you. About your partner, in crime or otherwise."

If Jaune didn't want Neopolitan to start the fight yet, he certainly succeeded a little bit. Neopolitan showed the first emotion other than anger over her face as her eyes widened. 

Jaune hunched down behind his shield and activated the Hard Light function. He then said, "I'm not going to claim that I understand how you're feeling, but I will say that I've been there before."

It seemed that he was right to get behind his shield. After all, he didn't know what exactly would set her off or when exactly she'd do it. Her still form shattered away with a crash and it took Jaune a bit by surprise to see a blur in his peripheral. He turned towards it as fast as he could and got behind his shield, activating his Gravity feature to pulse the threat away. However, it shattered much like Neopolitan did moments ago. Another illusion! Jaune gasped and tried to get his sword towards his back and block whatever might be coming that way. Luckily, he succeeded, and he pushed the pointed tip of Neopolitan's weapon away mere inches from his cheek. She had caught him with his shield out of position, so Jaune had to stare down a livid Neopolitan with little more than his sword as protection. Sparks flew with each clash of attack and parry, but Neopolitan kept up her assault.

Jaune barely had time to think, much less recollect his memories, but he couldn't help but muse that this was similar to when he foolishly charged Cinder on his own. After all, when staring in the eyes of someone with nothing to lose, he found it hard not to see his own reflection. The only difference? Neopolitan was much more skilled than who she challenged. Jaune had no chance against Cinder, but if Neopolitan continued like this? He didn't want to know what happened when she succeeded. 

Neopolitan still wore a scowl and her eyes burned red with rage. However, much like Jaune did on the day he challenged Cinder, she had tears welling at the corners of her eyes. Perhaps she didn't intend on using her illusions to appear like she always did: cunning, gleeful, and violent. Maybe it was distracting to use illusions like that during a fight, but Jaune didn't think it was either of those things. No, he could say with utmost confidence that Neopolitan simply didn't care anymore, and Jaune knew exactly how dangerous that mindset was.

Jaune finally got his shield back into a more favorable position and activated the Gravity function skillfully enough to send Neopolitan flying back. She opened the parasol functionality of her weapon and floated down harmlessly to the floor with no wound to anything except her pride. Her face was twisted in fury and she stared Jaune down from where she stood. Aside from her obviously wrathful mood, she looked no worse for wear.

Jaune was already breathing heavily. 

"Look… I know I can't defeat you," Jaune breathed, trying to take the moment to rest. "But there doesn't have to be a winner or a loser here."

She scowled once again, but it betrayed her thoughts. Jaune was a bit more ready this time. She forgoed using her Semblance, dropping all pretenses of a thought out strategy. Jaune knew this was going to be a brawl, despite what he experienced of her fighting style previously. He just didn't think it would be this monstrous. With every thrust and slash that hit his shield, he was forced back on sliding feet. Sparks flew not only from the metal-on-metal contact, but with the strength of these slashes, she was doing serious damage to the Hard Light extensions of his shield as well. A wash of blue and orange embers flew around the action as Neopolitan gave no quarter. Jaune knew he couldn't keep this up, so he readied himself to use the Gravity function once more. Unfortunately, Neopolitan still saw through it. After he activated it, Neopolitan used the handle of her weapon to hook around the top of the shield. Using the Gravity Dust to her advantage, she forced the shield out of his hand and into the air leaving Jaune defenceless. She again floated back down harmlessly, landing with little more than a soft padding of her feet. Moments later, Jaune's shield clattered noisily to the ground a few meters behind her. 

Jaune gulped audibly. He couldn't believe how easily he had been disarmed. His breath was getting more ragged. He may have been able to avoid damage so far, but did that make the fight as close as it implied? Hardly. For all Jaune knew, Neopolitan could literally be running circles around him. 

But he had to keep trying to get through to her, even if Neopolitan's demeanor made Jaune feel like he was the one looking up at her, despite their obvious differences in stature. Nonetheless, he pressed on, trying to think carefully before choosing his words.

"You and I aren't so different, Neopolitan. We both used criminal means to get what we want, we both met a mentor who helped shape us into who we are, and… we both have Cinder to thank for being where we are today."

Neopolitan scowled again and charged at Jaune with her weapon out, ready to stab his eye. Jaune, registering the attack as quickly as he could, got his sword up just in time to catch the weapon in a blade-to-blade standoff. Again, Jaune felt like the smaller person physically, especially with how strong Neopolitan seemed to be. She kept pushing her weapon which kept causing Jaune's feet to slip on the ground. He could barely keep up with his shield, somehow he didn't think he'd fare much better without it. The only thing he could afford to look at in the moment were Neopolitan's eyes, which he could tell had tears threatening to spill at any moment.

"Kh… ! Look Neopolitan," Jaune said, the struggle evident in his voice, "You and I both know that Ruby isn't to blame here. I know it, and deep down, I'm sure you do too."

Jaune was still making eye contact with Neopolitan, and tears actually did start spilling. She clearly wasn't pleased to hear that, which only confirmed Jaune's suspicions. He didn't have any time to properly react though as Neopolitan rose her weapon up and started stabbing at Jaune haphazardly. Haphazardly being the key word; Jaune was starting to see openings on an opponent who really shouldn't have any. She was not only losing her control, but possibly her will to live. He couldn't help but remember similar thoughts running through his mind against Cinder moments before he thought he was going to die.

He had to focus on the fight though. Even with all these openings, it's not like Jaune could take advantage of them. He was too busy parrying and dodging her attacks only for another attack to come mere moments later. Despite his success at not getting hit, Jaune knew that it couldn't last. He had to make moves or there'd be no reason for her to stop, and she still didn't look winded!

Jaune saw an opening near her lower stomach. He grit his teeth in anticipation of the damage to his Aura and swung out. He was immediately assaulted on his chest, the tip of her weapon doing considerable damage to his Aura. Thankfully, he felt his attack strike true as well, and they both lurched away from their assailants. Jaune could see the pink energy of Neopolitan's Aura flashing and crackling with damage. Neopolitan even had a hand clutching her Aura's wound and Jaune had his hand doing the same thing to his chest. Jaune had to hiss his breath out in staccato bursts as he tried to nurse the pain. Neopolitan didn't look much better. She looked down at her Aura's wound with a look of confusion and surprise. She then looked back up at Jaune with an unchanged expression before it quickly contorted into another scowl.

Jaune knew that if this kept up, he would have a small advantage. Even with this damage, he knew his Aura not only had more juice in the tank, but a larger tank as well. Trading blows like this would certainly allow him to keep ahead, but that was if Neopolitan was going to continue throwing herself recklessly into damage. Even so, Jaune had a feeling she wasn't going to make it easy. Besides, it was pretty clear that even if Jaune managed to deplete her Aura, she probably wouldn't stop fighting until she was incapacitated or even killed.

Not wanting to wait for Neopolitan to take the offensive again, Jaune gripped his sword and sprinted towards her. Neopolitan had the good sense to look surprised and quickly used her weapon to block Jaune's slash. He wound back and tried using his weapon to stab at her chest, but upon contact she shattered away using her Semblance. Cursing under his breath, Jaune whipped his head around in order to find out where she was going to strike. Upon doing so, he noticed his shield lying on the ground. Jaune figured that if he couldn't guess where she was going to emerge from, he could at least force her hand by trying to get his shield. He coiled up his body and shot off in a sprint towards the shield, trying to keep his eyes peeled for any sign of attack. Like he predicted, he saw what looked like shattering glass in between himself and the shield, so he raised his sword and swung down. Neopolitan emerged from her illusion moments later, but she dodged the strike with a spin and slashed along Jaune's side. He cried out in pain at the attack but turned himself towards Neopolitan. Unfortunately, Neopolitan was ready and opened her parasol right next to his face causing him to reel back in surprise. She then took the moment to sweep her legs out in a kick, causing him to fall on his back. Jaune barely had time to register what had happened before seeing Neopolitan raise her weapon with intent to stab his stomach. He gasped and rolled out of the way, notably towards his shield, but not before Neopolitan nicked his side with the tip of her blade, causing his Aura to take a bit more damage. He was still too far from his shield to grab it and Neopolitan was already winding up to slash at his chest. Gritting his teeth once more, Jaune quickly tried to get up while blocking with his sword, but he only got to his knee before being forced down by a monstrous slam from Neopolitan. Another stalemate as Jaune now physically looked up at Neopolitan from one knee, his sword the only barrier between Neopolitan's weapon and himself. He expected to be pushed down, but Neopolitan surprised him by raising her weapon. Jaune thought he maybe had a moment to breathe, but Neopolitan almost immediately slammed down her weapon again forcing Jaune to block it with his sword. He grunted with effort simply trying to keep Neopolitan's weapon from outright depleting his Aura. Almost immediately after, she raised her weapon again then slammed back down. Then again. Then with more speed. 

Jaune was terrified. The assault seemed unending and it was somehow getting faster. Every strike caused Jaune's arms to drop a little lower and his posture followed suit. He could barely hear his grunts of exertion over the din of combat as Neopolitan continued her unending assault, her eyes bloodshot and streaming with tears. But the scariest part was her voice, or her lack of one. Her mouth was clearly shaped as if she was screaming or shouting, but no sound came out. Perhaps a war cry or just a cry in general, Jaune couldn't exactly tell. All he could tell was that it was chilling. 

Jaune didn't have much time to act, but he noticed just a moment of either hesitation or exhaustion on Neopolitan's part, so he took that moment for all it was worth. As Neopolitan made to slam down again, he rolled off to the side of her and managed to slice her back with the tip of his sword which caused her to stagger forward into the literal crater she had pounded Jaune into mere moments ago. 

Jaune momentarily wondered why in the world he took her on by himself after his team specifically warned against it, but he recalled as she turned back around clutching her back. Finally, the effects of battle seemed to be taking its toll. She was breathing shakily and her mouth was twisted less into a scowl and more into an amalgamation of a frown and trying not to break down crying; her lower lip had a bit of a quiver. She needed help.

"Neopolitan, please. We're taking this too far!" Jaune pleaded as he glanced down at his scroll. Somehow she had gotten his Aura into the red. He had only hoped he had at least done the same to her so she could see reason. 

Instead, Neopolitan stiffened and brought her gaze down to the floor in front of her. The hat she was wearing, a black bowler hat, was pulled down to cover her eyes as her shoulders shook up and down. Her lips slowly gave way to baring teeth before shooting her head back up, a murderous glare in her eyes. She then lurched forward, her mouth contorting into what he could only assume was a scream, and the silence was deafening. The only thought running through Jaune's mind was that he wasn't surviving this without his shield. He broke eye contact to look for his shield which he saw was at Neopolitan's left about a few meters away. It was a deadly mistake though, as Neopolitan had already shattered in an illusion by the time he dared to look back at her. Panic set in and Jaune cursed much louder than he meant to as he broke into another sprint towards his shield. He couldn't wait for her to attack him again, or he'd be finished. His eyes darted about making sure he could dodge whatever incoming attack Neopolitan was about to unleash. He was within a meter of the shield when he saw the telltale illusion near his feet. Neapolitan was going to try and trip him again, but Jaune knew it couldn't end like that. Steeling himself, Jaune did the only thing he figured he could do: he dove. 

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Jaune jumped into the air, diving over Neopolitan's sweep of her weapon as she shattered back into existence. He could see the shock on her face as he flew over the weapon and then Neopolitan proper as she slid beneath him. The moment was short lived though, and Jaune could see that she was slipping with her hands and feet as she desperately tried to get back up and finish the fight.

Jaune saw that his shield was within reach, so he desperately extended his fingers and prayed for something or someone to help his hand get there first. He felt his palm hit the golden edge of his shield as he transitioned into a roll to further gain some distance from Neopolitan. She still hadn't attacked yet, so Jaune figured he had maybe a moment more before needing to fend off the final attack. After planting his feet from the roll, he grit his teeth and let out a pained cry as he attempted to stand one more time, turning towards his assailant. She was approaching low to the ground with her head and upper body clearly exposed for a counterattack. She was preparing to stab him through the heart, a concise and deadly attack. Jaune let out one final cry as he slammed his knee and shield down to the ground to help shoulder the blow as he swung his sword down from over his head, hoping beyond all hope that the fight would end here.

There was a shatter as someone's Aura depleted. Jaune felt himself pushed back by a force to his chest and went airborne, his knee unfolding off the ground. He landed with a grunt and slid back a few meters before finally stopping. He blinked and groaned before attempting to activate his Semblance, only to find that nothing was happening. He felt his heart sink. It was his Aura that depleted. He was as good as dead. He tried getting up despite the burning in his arms in order to meet his maker, but was surprised to see Neopolitan face down on the ground, the pink Aura around her shattering. He couldn't believe it; he had depleted her Aura as well. He allowed himself a moment to relax as he took in the damage of the scene around him, but what he saw stopped his heart once more.

Unattached from his arm, Crocea Mors' shield had been cleanly impaled by Neopolitan's weapon. 

Jaune felt himself breathlessly mouth, "Pyrrah…" as he stared in horror at his tribute to his fallen partner.

Neopolitan's weapon had made its way clean through, so she must have been successful in landing her final attack. His attention was diverted by Neopolitan slowly getting up and then rubbing her head as if to nurse off a headache before her eyes shot open in panic. She then put her second hand to her head and started patting around as if she was trying to feel for something that wasn't there. She whipped her head around while hyperventilating before finally finding whatever it was she was looking for, and her face fell aghast in shock. Jaune followed her gaze to see what had made her so upset.

Crocea Mors' Sword had sliced open the bowler hat she had been wearing, rendering it broken and unwearable. 

Jaune had no idea what the exact significance of this hat was to her, but she approached it on her hands and knees in a panic, shaking her head back and forth as if to deny what she was seeing. She tried reaching out for it, but she pulled her hand away as if the hat itself burned to the touch. She clenched her retracted hand into a fist and Jaune noticed that it started to shake uncontrollably. She must have sensed his gaze as she raised her eyes to meet his.

Gone was the bloodshot, crimson red eyes he had seen during their battle. What replaced them was anguish and despair. Her cheeks shone from the light hitting her tears, and she looked every bit of despondent as she was being. The last straw wasn't what she did, but what Jaune felt; his heart sank looking at her. He couldn't help but remember just how resigned he felt against Cinder, and he couldn't stand to see someone throw away their life like that again.

He didn't even bother to wipe his tears as he said with a cracking voice, "No more, Neopolitan. Please."

He didn't know if she'd listen. He didn't know if she was calculating how fast it would be to go get her weapon and just stab it into his heart. He didn't even know if he had gotten through to her at all throughout any of this.

All that happened was Neopolitan collapsing in on herself as she silently sobbed. The fight was over, and much like Jaune insisted earlier, there was no winner or loser. Finally convinced Neopolitan wouldn't attack him again, Jaune slowly (painfully) tried getting up. His vision started blurring and he used a free hand to reach up and wipe the tears out of his eyes. Once he finally got up, wobbling a bit as he did, Neopolitan's attacks finally caught up with him and he felt like he'd been hit by a truck. Everywhere she had struck hurt horrendously and there was little he could do about it right now except hiss through his teeth. Though after the initial wave of pain, Jaune couldn't help but wonder if Neopolitan was suffering the same effects. 

He barely managed to shuffle over to his shield and bent down a bit to inspect the damage. Neopolitan's weapon was lodged through the upper middle part of the shield and had managed to pierce his supply of Gravity Dust, which explained why they both ended up so far away from each other. He frowned, as if looking upset at it would make it fix itself. Sighing, Jaune got on one knee and attempted to pull the parasol out of the shield. It took a bit of effort, but he managed to loosen it out after a few seconds of what felt like pointless pulling. Jaune inspected Neopolitan's weapon and saw that it seemed no worse for wear. Perhaps surprising himself, Jaune put his shield back down on the ground for the moment with a silent promise to make sure it's ok soon, and shuffled his way over to Neopolitan who was still curled in on herself. Her shoulders were shaking up and down and Jaune heard sharp intakes as she silently cried on the floor of their arena. Jaune decided to bend down one more time and sit on the floor nearby her, despite knowing it'd feel like hell trying to stand back up and gave a ragged sigh. 

"I take it you already figured this all out, huh? Someone just needed to say it." He said, genuinely concerned for her. She didn't really show any sign of listening, but Jaune continued all the same, "You realized that nothing you do, now or in the future, will bring them back."

Neopolitan still made no effort to meet his gaze, but Jaune did notice her curl in on herself further. He decided to continue, "Again, I can't say I understand exactly what you're going through, but I get it. I've been in this place before. You feel like you've got nothing to lose and you use your anger to… I dunno… feel invincible. It makes you feel like what you're doing is justified. And maybe it is! After all, you meet this wonderful person, they're the only one who believes in you, they teach you all these important things, they love you unconditionally, and they become the greatest partner in all of Remnant." Jaune felt his shoulders slump as he continued, "I never even got the chance to say goodbye…" 

Jaune had to catch himself at that. This wasn't about him right now, and he really wanted to practice what he was preaching, but he knew it was difficult. He glanced over to Neopolitan to see if she had reacted at all to what he was saying, but the only thing that really changed was that she didn't seem to be crying at the moment. Still curled in on herself, but maybe she was listening. 

"Again, we're not so different Neopolitan, but there is one difference between us," He said, cutting off a bit early so as to try and get Neopolitan to at least look up a bit. It seemed to work, and Jaune caught one of her eyes peeking out from under her hand. Seeing this, Jaune smiled gently and said, "I had friends to help me through this. It sounds like all you had was maybe Cinder, and you and I both know that isn't the healthiest person to bring this up with."

Maybe it was a bit too forward because Jaune could tell she looked a little annoyed from her glare alone. Jaune tried to swing back around to his main point with, "Look, I get it. Some stranger came in picking a fight, talking about this and that, and he probably has no idea what you're going through but he keeps talking and talking and you're sick of it." He sighed a bit as he continued. "I had friends to help me through my grief, and even I had that thought process sometimes."

He turned his body, facing her more fully, "But that's the funny thing about strangers," He smiled softly as he continued, "They're just friends you haven't met yet." He then stuck out a hand for her to take and said, "I'm Jaune Arc."

Neopolitan seemed to regard his hand with suspicion, and she kept glancing up at his face and back down to his hand. This continued for a few seconds and Jaune remarked, "It's not going to bite, Neopolitan. It just seems to me that you want a friend. I hope I'm not being presumptuous…" Jaune couldn't help but use his other hand to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. When Neopolitan didn't take his hand after a few more seconds, he sighed dejectedly and put his hand down. He didn't know why he was so disappointed; Neopolitan was a powerful warrior, he probably didn't know a thing about what was going on in her head. Sighing once more, he put his hands on the ground to help him get up, but not before he felt something clamp on like a vice-grip.

Neopolitan was still curled up in herself, but one of her hands clamped down on his wrist with terrifying force. He followed the arm back up to her face and he saw her eyes had a look of fear in them. Jaune raised his eyebrows in surprise at this and looked back down at her hand. 

"You… uh… want to be friends?" He asked, a bit unsure of himself. He could only read the mood so well, and that was doubly hard for someone who didn't, or couldn't, talk. Predictably, Neopolitan didn't really communicate her thought process any further. Jaune decided to take a stab in the dark and say, "There's nothing to be scared of. Uh… not that I think you would be scared of anything. Far from it in fact. It takes some guts to go against four huntsmen and huntresses and still win."

Still nothing from Neopolitan. Jaune stumbled on his words for a bit before finally deciding on, "I'm… uh… gonna stand up now." Jaune then continued using his hands as support as he slowly stood up, hissing the whole way as his muscles screamed at him. Once he got his legs under him, he turned to Neopolitan and tried helping her up as well. Interestingly enough, he noticed that she was clutching at her side with her other hand and Jaune realized that maybe she needed the help anyway. He decided to drop it though when they both finally stood up, each of them applying pressure at the pain they were feeling with their free hand. 

"I can fix our wounds in a bit, I just have to wait for my Aura to recharge a little," Jaune said, trying to make some sort of conversation (no matter how fruitless he knew that would be). She was obviously in a bit of pain, and he wanted to help, but he didn't exactly blame her for depleting his Aura in the first place. She was in a rough spot. In fact, now that they were both standing, her stance was a little deflated and Jaune noticed all sorts of little ticks she was doing; her free hand was opening and closing in a fist repeatedly, she seemed a little fidgety, and she wouldn't really make any more eye contact. Jaune's mouth made an "o" shape as he realized what was going on.

"This probably feels pretty embarrassing. Opening up to others, asking for help, but that's what friends are for. Heck, even I get embarrassed talking to some of my friends about this stuff, and I've known them for a while!"

Neopolitan seemed to clamp at his wrist just a bit harder and looked away just a bit further. He figured he was right on the money. He continued with, "I promise it gets easier with time. And yes, time is something we'll have plenty of after all this. And we will get through all this."

Neopolitan finally deigned to look at him and while she didn't exactly look too much better, she didn't look worse either and that was more important at the moment. He had her weapon in his free hand and tried giving it to her saying, "I believe this belongs to you?"

She stared at her weapon before slowly reaching out to take it, notably with both hands as she let go of Jaune's wrist. Jaune noticed the absence of crushing pain and shook his wrist around to try and alleviate the pressure. Looking down at it, it looked like she had made a bruise with how hard she had gripped. He tried not to look too surprised at that, but he noticed her looking at his face with a tilt of her head. 

"Uh… I've gotta get my weapon too," Jaune said while pointing with his near broken hand to the sword nearby. It was stuck in the ground with the sliced open bowler hat in the middle of it. He went to grab the hilt of the blade but was interrupted by Neopolitan who waved her hands in front of his face with a look of trepidation. Jaune was confused, but followed her instruction and waited to see what she would do next. She bent down slowly and reached out for the hat again, her hand shaking as she got closer. Jaune wondered if it actually did hurt to touch for a moment, but after a deep breath to steel herself, she carefully grabbed the hat making sure not to allow any more damage to befall it. She then slowly stood back up and Jaune saw her meticulously start to brush it off with her hand and pick out pieces of debris with her fingers. It clearly meant a great deal to her, so he didn't want to bother her while she worked. He then reached back down for his sword and with a grunt and a pull managed to unsheath it from its spot on the floor. It seemed to be undamaged, so Jaune was glad he could at least fight with something when he caught up to the others. 

His attention turned back to his shield. It was still on the ground in the place he had left it. A bit of light in the room was shining off it's gold features, and Jaune couldn't help but sigh at it. He shuffled back over to it and stopped when he could get a good look at it. He inspected his shield once more with a frown and hoped that Pyrrah would forgive him for allowing it to get damaged like this. He wouldn't be able to protect his team or his friends with a broken shield, but he figured that she wouldn't mind if he used it to stop someone from doing something they'd regret. His expression softened at that and he bent down carefully to pick up the shield, making sure nothing else damaged it before attempting to sheath his sword within it. It seemed that the damage didn't extend to the sheath functionality and Crocea Mors was whole once again. He inspected the full weapon a bit, but his thoughts were interrupted by a soft clacking of footsteps behind him and he turned to see Neopolitan scrutinizing his weapon as well. She was holding her weapon in one hand, but he recognized her vice-grip on the hat. She looked as if she were treating the hat like a lifeline, not that her facial expression would betray her thoughts. Jaune had to stop himself from ghosting his free hand over his bruised wrist.

"The shield won't be useful, but hopefully…" Jaune trailed off as he attempted to activate the greatsword functionality. The shield made a bit of a grinding noise much to both of their displeasure, but it seemed to fold up without any other issue and the edges extended out allowing for the greatsword to work. "Well that's good. It sucks that I can't use any Dust, but I can at least use a bigger sword." He then tried to turn it back into its sheath form only for it to remain stuck as it was. Jaune furrowed his brow at the weapon and tried activating the function a few more times before giving up and saying, "Well, I think it might be stuck like this for a bit. Hopefully Ruby can help fix it…"

Neopolitan furrowed her own brow at the mention of Ruby and Jaune caught it almost immediately, saying, "Neopolitan, no. I know your history with her isn't great, but we need all the help we can get to take down Salem. You and Ruby both are important to that. You don't have to like her, but that's as far as it goes." Neopolitan responded by crossing her arms in a huff. Jaune felt himself deflate a bit and said, "Please Neopolitan? I want to be friends with you, I truly do, but it's a two-way street. I'll make sure none of my friends give you any trouble, but you have to make sure not to give any of my friends trouble, even if they aren't keen on being friendly themselves."

Jaune saw Neopolitan's eyebrows go down further as her face fell to a frown. They stood like that staring at each other for a bit until Neopolitan finally broke eye contact first. She rolled her eyes and put a hand over her heart and her other hand in the air in begrudging surrender. Jaune felt a bit of relief at that and said, "Thank you Neopolitan, really." Her only response was to nod at him and start making her way to their arena's exit. Jaune held Corcea Mors a bit more comfortably and went to follow her. They got to where Jaune's team was standing before their battle started and Neopolitan looked to him for directions.

"It's off this way," Jaune said with a point. Jaune took out his scroll to double check and the GPS confirmed what he said. "If we can keep a good pace, I don't think we'll miss too much of the action. If we find my team and Ruby's team, we'll find Cinder."

Neopolitan scowled at the mention of Cinder, and honestly Jaune couldn't help but mirror it. 

"Hmph. Me too. I'd say get in line, but it sounds like we're gonna try to capture her alive."

Neopolitan recoiled her head back and her face was etched in incredulous confusion. Jaune made a sound that was a mix of a sigh and a chuckle and said, "I know right? Personally, I don't think a punishment befitting her exists on Remnant." Neopolitan raised an eyebrow, sensing a "but."

"However, taking her to rot away in a cell forever isn't a bad alternative I think. That monster has been able to get away with too much for too long. And now? It's time for her to Pay."

Neopolitan raised both her eyebrows at that. Jaune wondered if it was something he said, but Neopolitan surprised him by sporting a wicked smirk, much more befitting of what he knew about her prior to their fight.

Jaune couldn't help but smirk back and said, "I'm glad we agree. Now come on, we have a score to settle."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. 
> 
> As an extra note, this is explicitly not a ship-fic, as much as I like the idea of these two characters falling in love. This isn't the time or the place, though this could certainly mark the start of their relationship in general. 
> 
> I'll also say that I'm a recent RWBY watcher, and while I'm sure I'm not the first or the last to notice Neo and Jaune's similarities, I got in a funk when I heard the lyrics to One Thing and watched the Pyrrah statue scene in close succession. I also came to the conclusion that Neo and Jaune could possibly not make it to the end of RWBY, and it only made the funk worse. This fic is the result of that, and I do hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
